First Comes Love
by cue-the-sun
Summary: Edward can't help his fixation with the woman in the corner of the cafe everyday on his lunch break. One-shot, AH


*Sigh. Once again, posting another one shot before I finish my other stories…I think I actually posted this at one point on here and then deleted it, though I can't remember… Anyway it's better now then when I posted it before, it's been revised.

I'll update the other stories sometime, but I seem to have a problem with finishing them… I get easily bored with every story I start, and run out of ideas, blah blah. If anyone reads one of my other stories and has an idea of how it should go, or would like to help me write it, or anything, message me!

Also, this is a one-shot…for now. I will leave it not completed and I MAY write more… once again, I'm open to ideas and suggestions! Let me know 3

Disclaimer: Not mine!

Edward/Bella

T for language and just to be safe, and because I'm shocked that I didn't write any lemons into this!

All Human!

**FIRST COMES LOVE**

It was almost impossible not to watch her. Whether you knew her or not (the latter in my case), she seemed to just draw the attention of everyone she passed. She had a way about her, one that you could hardly help but get swept up in.

She was so unique

Her clothes were very worn, bohemian-like, and slouchy, but they still hung from her frame like they were made of spun gold.

Her hair was dark, long and on most days in a single braid down her back, and even though she wore no makeup her skin was flawless, eyelashes always thick and lips always red.

Everyday she wore a pair of scuffed, slouchy boots that she would swing back and forth on the floor here.

I didn't know her name, or much of anything about her, really. Except that she was beautiful and interesting, and so very mysterious.

I didn't know what she was like, where she worked or lived, or what her dreams were. I didn't know how she spent her time, or her age.

I did, however, know what she did for the hour she visited this little café.

Everyday, I rushed from my office building on my lunch break, too eager to see her.

I ordered my lunch quickly, always choosing to sit in the far back corner so that I could watch her stroll in, greet the owner warmly, and order the same thing everyday.

One sweet tea, and a turkey sandwich with extra pickles.

She was consistent and always chose the seat by the window that gave me the best view of her. She always ordered the same thing, and she always ordered it take-away.

I watched her today, like any other day, as she sat in the same seat, crossed her long legs and pulled them underneath her body, sitting like a child would.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes and behind her ear, pushing her jacket off of her shoulders, getting comfortable in the small leather seat.

I watched as she sipped her tea a bit, and then put the sandwich inside her purse. I always wondered why she ordered it take-away if she had time to sit in here for an hour everyday. She had plenty of time to eat it.

On some days, she would pull out a tattered, dog-eared novel from her bag, and be so engrossed in the book that she wouldn't look up until the full hour was over.

On those days, I was sad not to see her eyes, as her hair would cover her face as she read.

On more days then not, she would hold a chewed-up Bic pen and scribble in a small yellow notebook quietly. It was a strange kind of feeling not to be able to see her writings. I was curious. I didn't like it.

And then other days, like today, she would take out a Moleskine notebook and a black charcoal pencil that she would use to create things I would never see.

She sketched so furiously, looking out the window occasionally. I could only guess that she was drawing the street goers.

I sipped my coffee today, fearing that I was becoming too caught up in her, in this mystery girl, but not caring enough to stop watching her.

She was too intriguing, too mysterious, and so pretty that the hour lunch flew by in what felt like minutes, as it always did.

And she got up to leave, packing her bag and standing on the worn linoleum floor, walking with her eyes downcast.

As she got up to leave, I figured that I should too, and I could get back to work a bit earlier, finish my work sooner, and be home quicker.

Or maybe it was just an excuse for me to follow her out the door.

We left.

Not together, but close to it, as she was heading my way, in the same direction as my work.

Why had I never seen her leave this way before?

Oh, maybe it was because I had never trailed her out of the fucking coffee shop before like I was doing right now? Probably.

She seemed to stand out in the busy streets, everyone watching as she walked hurriedly along the sidewalk, looking just like a painting of beauty.

I was shocked as she stopped suddenly, took the sandwich out of her bag, and handed it to the homeless man on the side of the street who smiled sloppily at her in thanks. She grinned back.

Ah. A kind heart too. Why was I surprised? What didn't this woman have that I desired?

She patted the man on the shoulder, exchanged a few words, and then took off again down the street. But she seemed tense.

I realized that we- _I_, I reminded myself, it only counts as we if she knows that your following her- had passed my work a few blocks back.

I pursed my lips.

I knew I should get back to work now, with my lunch break being over, but I was so enraptured, so curious…

I bit my lips against what I knew was right, and did the wrong, walking down the streets after her.

I was ashamed of myself, disgusted. How could I defy this wonderful women's privacy by following her? Why did I feel the need to follow her? This was so very, very wrong.

And yet, I still followed.

I would turn back around in a bit, I decided, just a few more blocks.

_You perverted stalker_, my subconscious told me. _How would you like it if some random women decided to follow you around town like this? _

_Just a few more blocks_, I answered back, still wallowing in self-disgust, but unable to turn back.

Besides, she was heading in the direction of my apartment… I could skip work today, go home and call my boss and tell him I had to leave early, that I was sick. He would have to agree, since I hadn't taken a vacation day in years.

I heard her yelp.

Startled, I looked up and noticed a tall man pushing past her in a hurry, and watched as her bag fell and spilled on the ground near the side of a small corner store.

He kept going, not even attempting to say sorry, and I growled at him as he came by me. Then I ran to the girl who was a few paces ahead of me, on the ground and trying to collect her things.

Thunder cracked overhead as I bent down and put a hand on her wrist, to alert her of my presence, and that I was planning on helping her.

I could very nearly see the sparks of electricity shoot as our skin touched, and she looked up startled, then breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing my wrist in return to steady herself.

"Oh, it's just you," She said breathlessly, in relief.

What? Just me? Did she know me?

"Oh, er, I-" I started, not sure what I was about to say, but she continued.

"Don't scare me like that again," She breathed out. "I thought someone was following me!" She let go of my wrist, and slipped the last of her things into her bag. She was talking to me, so happy to see me, like we were old friends who just happened to run into each other.

What was going on?

"I-I…you know…how do you know me?" I croaked, so confused, but happy that she was talking to me.

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, disappointedly pursing her lips, like I should know.

She pointed behind us, and I didn't have to look to know she was pointing at the café from which we had both come.

We stood up, and she slid her purse up onto her shoulder. She made no move to leave, waiting on me to continue.

"B-but I thought…" I trailed off.

How could I say that I had thought she didn't see me staring at her from my booth every day?

"That I didn't see you." She finished for me. I swallowed, waiting for the part where she ran screaming from me.

"Yes, well, you aren't as stealthy as you might like to think," She told me, but she was smiling.

I didn't understand…She had seen me staring at her, and now _following_ her, and she was _happy_ to see me?

And then she softly took my hand in hers, and started leading me down the streets.

"Come on, let's get out of the rain." She told me, and then took off running, dragging me along with her.

I hadn't even realized it, but apparently it had started raining while we were talking, and it was steadily gaining speed. We were getting more soaked by the minute.

I frowned, not liking the idea of her catching a cold in this weather, and reached over, pulling her hood up over her already soaked hair.

She just squeezed my hand, not even looking at me, and ran faster. I barely noticed the rain as I was loving the feel of her palm against mine. A few minutes later, she was turning and pulling me into a small flower shop. We were completely soaked through and shivering. She slipped off her jacket and hung it on a hook by the door, motioning for me to do the same.

I looked at her quizzically, but complied and pealed off my blazer, leaving me in a wet, clingy long sleeves tee. I was absolutely lost. This felt like a dream. In the span of 5 minutes, the girl of my dreams had acknowledged me, spoken to me, and dragged me down the street with her into a flower shop. What was going on?

I watched as she unraveled her braid and her hair fell in wet ringlets down her back. She ran her fingers through the waves a couple of times, sighing with a small smile, and then called out "Diana?"

"Just a minute, dear!" A muffled voice hollered back.

Beside me, she pealed the soaked scarf from around her neck and hung it with our jackets. Slipping off her boots, she revealed a pair of gray argyle knitted fuzzy socks, and I watched as she wiggled her toes.

She looked up at me, coming up to about my chin in height.

"Well, what's your name?" She asked me happily, like this was so normal.

"Er, E-Edward. " I told her, stuttering. I was just so lost! Any other girl would have been running away from their creepy stalker, but she was embracing it, taking me in and letting me follow her around!

She was still smiling. "I'm-"

"Bella!" The voice from before exclaimed, and we turned to the back of the store, where a short, slightly pudgy, and very warm looking woman was coming from, smiling.

The woman had red hair, curly around her face, wearing a floral print dress with a zip-up sweater over it. Her expression was welcoming.

"Goodness, honey, you're soaked! Oh, it's just _pouring_ outside, isn't it? You poor thing, come in, come in. I'll get you some- Oh! Who's your friend?" She said, all in one breath.

Bella laughed, and the sound sent a shiver through me. "This is Edward, Diana. I'm going to take him up stairs and get us some dry clothes."

"Oh, there's still some cinnamon pastries and hot cocoa in the kitchen down here, why don't you two go get cleaned up and then have at it? Can't have you catching a cold now, can we?" She said worriedly

She came over to Bella, _beautiful, beautiful Bella_, ignoring her wet clothes, and hugged her, and then to my surprise, me as well.

"It was so nice meeting you dear! Go, go," She shooed us towards a small set of stairs in the back of the shop. "Hurry now, before you catch a chill!"

Bella started to pull me up the stairs and I called back down to Diana, telling her it was nice to meet her as well.

The upstairs was… exactly what you would expect the upstairs of a small flower shop to be like. It was worn-in, slightly ratty, and barely livable.

The small amount of furniture was mismatched, a tall-backed yellow chair in one corner, a dark oak desk in the other.

She had a small bed, underneath a window, the _only_ window, and a light wood side table beside it.

That was it. That was all the furniture.

The closet was open, and from what I could see, small.

It was slimly decorated and warm looking, if cramped.

"Not much, but it's a place to sleep at night," She said directly behind me, and I jumped slightly at her proximity.

She was way too comfortable with me! We had barely known each other a matter of minutes, if you didn't count the months of stalking I did. She shouldn't be able to be like this with me, to be so easy going, when I was close to jumping from my skin with nerves.

She laughed as she went to the closet, pulling out a tee-shirt, a hoodie and a pair of sweat pants, tossing them to me gently. I started again, as I caught them.

"Calm down, you're so jumpy!" She smiled, pulling out more clothes for her.

"I-I'm sorry. Its just- I'm very confused." I told her. "Why are you so trusting with me? I mean, you don't know me at all. What if you let someone else up here with you instead of me? They could do anything - " I stopped, taking deep breaths now, to calm myself down from the thought that she might have let someone else up here the same way she did with me, and put herself in danger.

"I'm not stupid, Edward," She narrowed her eyes at me disapprovingly. "I've been on my own for a long time now, I think I know who I can trust and who I can't. You won't hurt me. You aren't the only one who watches, you know."

I sighed, biting my lip. It wasn't my place to reprimand her, and I suppose she _had_ been taking care of herself. But I still didn't like it.

"Good." She stated, when it became apparent that I wasn't going comment again. "I'm going to go in here and change and dry off. I'll be back out in 3-4 minutes, in case you were wondering how long you have to steal something and make a get away –" She teased, but cut off and started laughing when I growled at her.

With a wink, she was gone.

Xxx

Laughing at something I had said, she stole a piece of the cinnamon cookie in my hand and popped it into her mouth, smiling. She reached across from me, and plucked the glass of milky hot cocoa from the side table, and put it to her lips to wash down my cookie.

We were snuggled deep in her many blankets, side by side, and between us sat a small tray with cinnamon cookies and crumb cakes on it. We had been talking for over four hours now, and it had yet to become dull or forced. She was just as amazing as I knew she would be, and I was quickly falling for her even more.

We were dressed in our new warm clothes and wrapped up in fuzzy blankets. She was so pretty under the glow of her side table lamp, and I knew my instincts had been dead on with this girl. She was so much more than I could have even known to wish for.

We talked about everything that night.

We talked about books, we discussed movies and music and bands. She was so different from any girl I had ever met, so wild and happy and shy and interesting. She had a sense of humor, and we laughed and joked around, teasing each other. I'd never been able to do this with a girl without hurting their feelings or having to explain the joke to them. She teased me about stalking her, and I would call her a bookworm, and she'd say that I only knew that because I stalked her. Then we would laugh together and I'd become just a little more lost in her eyes.

We also talked about serious things. Our lives, our jobs, our families.

I found out that she didn't have any family or friends, besides Diana. She lived here in this small room, and worked downstairs with Diana, who had been her mom's closest friend before she passed away, 3 years after her dad died.

I did not know what I would do or how I could live without my family behind me. I would be so lonely, so lost, and I don't know how I would be able to handle it.

I didn't know what would happen after tonight, but I knew that I wanted Bella to be a part of my family, my life. I wanted her with me, to let me take care of her, to be with me.

No, I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew what I wanted.

I wanted her. After one night, I knew how I wanted my life to play out. I wanted this bubbly, sexy, shy, and beautiful girl all for myself.

I wanted the town talking about us, the most in-love couple that they had ever seen.

I wanted her to stay with me, in my apartment, and leave her books all over the place. I wanted nice smelling girly soaps in my shower, and citrus shampoos on my counter, and scruffy boots and purses spilling out of my closet. I wanted lacy bras mixed in my laundry hamper, and her smell on my pillows.

I wanted photos of us on my refrigerator, and I wanted all of Bella's favorite foods on my shopping list.

I wanted to wake up to her warm body beside mine, and I wanted to take care of her and make us eggs for breakfast and to walk to work with her. We would go our separate ways, and I would count the minutes until I got to see her again, and then we would meet at lunchtime at the café where we first met, sitting in the corner, holding hands and whispering to each other.

I wanted to hold hands on the walk home and order takeout and cuddle on the couch while we fed each other sweet and sour chicken and rice. I wanted to pet her hair as she laid her head in my lap, and I watched her fall asleep.

I wanted her in my bed every night, as I carried her to our bedroom and kissed her goodnight, snuggling in next to her. I wanted it to be _our_ bed, instead of _my_ bed.

I wanted to know that I was the only man that she was dreaming about every night, as she sighed and smiled in her sleep.

I wanted her to love me, and me only. I wanted to marry this wonderful girl and have her with me forever. I wanted to move into a big house with a fucking white picket fence and a mowed lawn and 4 dogs and have lots of kids with her and raise a big family.

I wanted to grow old with her and travel the world and be the one that watched as she got wrinkles and gray hair, and when she complained, I wanted to be the one that told her she was still as beautiful as the day I met her.

And of all the things I wanted, the only thing I needed was for her to be happy.

So I would pray, and let her choose, and hope like hell that she would see in me what I saw in her. That she would want to spend ever moment in my arms, and stay up every night with me, and love me at least half as much as I loved her.

For every day of forever.


End file.
